The Unfinished Agenda of Brown v. Board of Education

Dara N. Byrne, James Anderson

Description

Praise for The Unfinished Agenda of Brown V. Board of Education

"My father, Oliver L. Brown, for whom Brown v. Board of Education is named, was a proud member of a group of a few hundred people, across the country, who took risks by taking a stand for what they believed. He died in 1961, just seven years after the case, so he didn't live long enough to know that Brown would become the foundation on which so much of this country's civil and human rights initiatives would rest.
Brown v. Board became important for every citizen, not just African Americans. It shows that the founding documents of our country provided us with sovereign rights that cannot be restricted by state and local governments. That decision impacted the lives of women, persons with disabilities, blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, and everyone living in this country.
Brown was significant in attacking the silence. It opened up a dialogue and forced the country to take on greater responsibility; we at every level had to start addressing the issue of race. In many ways, once the dialogue started, we finally began to under stand the depths of racism. This case was about gaining access to educational resources; the resources were and remain where the white children are. The Unfinished Agenda of Brown v. Board of Education is about renewing and continuing the promise of Brown."
-Cheryl Brown Henderson, president of the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Research, and daughter of Oliver L. Brown, one of the thirteen plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education
A Word from Theodore M. Shaw of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

Commemorating Brown on the Twentieth Anniversary of Black Issues in Higher Education by Frank L. Matthews.

Reflections of One Who Was There by William E. Cox.

PREFACE.

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Reading The Unfinished Agenda by James Anderson and Dara N. Byrne.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Timeline for Brown v. Board of Education.

INTRODUCTION.

Brown v. Board of Education: An Unfinished Agenda by Tavis Smiley.

1. A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF BROWN.

Using Primary Records to Understand Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al. by Kahlil G. Chism.

2. THE ATTORNEYS.

Never-Ending Argument by Juan Williams.

3. THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE.

All Too Deliberate by Charles Ogletree.

4. A SIMPLE DIALOGUE.

The Potential Value of Losing Brown v. Board by Derrick Bell.

5. THE TEACHERS.

The Impact of the Brown Decision on African American Educators by Mary Hatwood Futrell.

6. THE LANGUAGE.

Exploring The Hidden Meanings in Plessy and Brown by Richard L. Wright.

7. MULTICULTURAL IMPACT I.

An Asian American Perspective on Brown by Evelyn Hu-DeHart.

8. MULTICULTURAL IMPACT II.

A History of Latino Segregation Lawsuits by Marco Portales.

9. THE PSYCHE.

The Psychological Evolution of Black Children’s Education since Brown by A. Wade Boykin and James M. Jones.

10. RENEWING OUR COMMITMENT.

Brown Misunderstood by Gary Orfield.

AFTERWORD.

Reaffirming the Legacy by Cheryl Brown Henderson.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE BROWN V. BOARD OPINION.

NOTES.

CONTRIBUTORS.

INDEX.

Sujets

• Civil Law
• Histoire
• African American
• United States
• History
• Brown v. Board of Education

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470323199
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Unfinished Agenda of Brown v. Board of Education
The Editors of Black Issues in Higher Education with James Anderson, Ph.D. and Dara N. Byrne, Ph.D.
L ANDMARKS IN C IVIL R IGHTS H ISTORY

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2004 by Black Issues in Higher Education. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada
Design and production by Navta Associates, Inc.
Photos pp. xv , 8 - 9 , 98 , 110 - 111 , 127 , 152 , National Archives; p. xxi, photograph by William Cox; pp. 16 , 21 , 36 , 51 , 71 , 82 , 102 , 103 , 120 , 131 , 142 , 158 by Ishmail Conway; p. 24 , New York World-Telegram and Sun Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division; p. 31 , by Steven Early, courtesy of Tribune Media; pp. 78 , 138 , National Archives Middle Atlantic Region, Center City Philadelphia, PA; p. 108 , Robert B. Honeyman Jr. Collection of Early Californian and Western American Pictorial, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; p. 124 , by E.W. Clay, courtesy of Boondocksnet.com ; p. 168 , courtesy of Brown Foundation
Cartoons pp. 44 , 62 by Melvin Tapley, courtesy of Melvin Tapley
Diagram p. 34 , designed by Mark Bartley
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
The unfinished agenda of Brown v. Board of Education / the editors of Black issues in higher education with James Anderson and Dara N. Byrne.
p. cm.
Landmarks in civil rights history.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-64926-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Segregation in education-Law and legislation-United States-History. 2. Race discrimination-Law and legislation-United States-History. 3. African Americans-Civil rights-History. 4. Brown, Oliver, 1918- Trials, litigation, etc. I. Anderson, James, Ph. D. II. Byrne, Dara N. III. Black issues in higher education.
KF4155.U54 2004 344.73 0798-dc22
2003019753
Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to my mother, Artensie Wesley Cox, a strong, independent, and caring woman who instilled in my brothers, my sister, and me a strong sense of values, spirituality, compassion, and love for all.
It is also dedicated to my granddaughter, Rhyann Lee Clark, who will someday examine Brown v. Board of Education in a much different light than those of us today. I trust that her life will be free of the trials that I and members of my generation of African Americans had to endure growing up and living in a rigid, segregated society in the United States of America.
Finally, it is dedicated to Miss Kisiah V. Autry and Mrs. Nellie Lee Elmore, my first educators. It was they who started me down the path of educational pursuits that I still travel today.
William E. Cox, Black Issues in Higher Education

To my dear wife and spiritual sister, Joan Morgan Matthews, with whom I gratefully participate in the greatest and most important education work of all: teaching others about the purpose of our creator Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ as told in the Bible. Their assurance that our children, Maya and Franky, our grandsons, Jaylen and Matthew, as well as any right-hearted person can live in a world devoid of all problems, including those that gave rise to the Brown litigation, is the best lesson of all and a source of happiness beyond compare.
Frank L. Matthews, Black Issues in Higher Education
CONTENTS
A Word from Theodore M. Shaw of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Commemorating Brown on the Twentieth Anniversary of Black Issues in Higher Education by Frank L. Matthews
Reflections of One Who Was There by William E. Cox
P REFACE
Looking Back, Looking Forward: Reading The Unfinished Agenda by James Anderson and Dara N. Byrne
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Timeline for Brown v. Board of Education
I NTRODUCTION
Brown v. Board of Education: An Unfinished Agenda by Tavis Smiley

1 A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF BROWN
Using Primary Records to Understand Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al. by Kahlil G. Chism

2 THE ATTORNEYS
Never-Ending Argument by Juan Williams

3 THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE
All Too Deliberate by Charles Ogletree

4 A SIMPLE DIALOGUE
The Potential Value of Losing Brown v. Board by Derrick Bell

5 THE TEACHERS
The Impact of the Brown Decision on African American Educators by Mary Hatwood Futrell

6 THE LANGUAGE
Exploring The Hidden Meanings in Plessy and Brown by Richard L. Wright

7 MULTICULTURAL IMPACT I
An Asian American Perspective on Brown by Evelyn Hu-DeHart

8 MULTICULTURAL IMPACT II
A History of Latino Segregation Lawsuits by Marco Portales

9 THE PSYCHE
The Psychological Evolution of Black Children s Education since Brown by A. Wade Boykin and James M. Jones

10 RENEWING OUR COMMITMENT
Brown Misunderstood by Gary Orfield
AFTERWORD
Reaffirming the Legacy by Cheryl Brown Henderson

T RANSCRIPT OF THE B ROWN V . B OARD O PINION
N OTES
C ONTRIBUTORS
I NDEX
A WORD FROM THEODORE M. SHAW OF THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation s oldest legal organization fighting for equal rights under the law. Established in 1940 under the direction of the late Thurgood Marshall, the LDF initially was an independent litigation arm of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; the two groups separated entirely in 1957.
I never knew what it was like to live in a United States where the promise of equal protection under the law was meaningless. When I began practicing law, Brown v. Board of Education seemed to have been decided eons ago. I was born six months after the landmark Supreme Court decision, which struck down legally mandated public school segregation. Yet, the struggle against racial discrimination has been my life s work, and despite great progress, it seems as if there is enough work to last a lifetime.
Fifty years after Brown , the struggle continues. Due to the work of Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Robert Carter, Jack Greenberg, Constance Baker Motley, James Nabrit Jr., Oliver Hill, William T. Coleman, Louis Pollack, Charles Duncan, and others, Brown stands as one of our most important moments. But the work is not yet finished. As we commemorate Brown v. Board of Education and all we have accomplished since then, it is important to engage in a critical commemoration and then rededicate ourselves to the work that Thurgood Marshall and others began so long ago.
There is a song in the black church that says, My soul looks back and wonders how I got over. I got over because of the civil rights movement and the demand for black empowerment. They opened doors that I do not think would ever have opened otherwise. My generation bore the brunt of the school desegregation battles, which continued into and through the 1970s. As a consequence of the work of the LDF, the Justice Department, and the NAACP, by the late 1970s things began to change for many schoolchildren. However, in the 1980s, the era of school desegregation was brought to a halt and then turned around. By the early 1990s schools districts that were once segregated were operating securely in the fiction that they now had broken the link between past intentionally segregative acts and present-day segregation.
In 1995, I argued Missouri v. Jenkins , the last school desegregation case decided by the Supreme Court. Jenkins was the last of the series of cases (1991 s Board of Education of Oklahoma v. Dowell , and 1992 s Freeman v. Pitts ) in which the Court had signaled a retreat from its earlier cases implementing the Brown v. Board decision. In the course of oral argument Justice Anthony Kennedy asked me whether it was true that the primary purpose of the Court was to return the school district to local control. I responded affirmatively, adding after the violation has been cured.
I have often thought about this exchange, because in my view it captured the core of two competing visions of desegregation cases: one sees segregation as an enduring effect of long-term discrimination that can only be undone by concerted and sustained action;